ASSESSMENT OF CAREER SELECTION PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A MCDM APPROACH

Abstract

Career selection is one of the most vital and challenging decisions in the life of Career selection is one of the most vital and challenging decisions in the life of an individual. In many cases, the individual is not solely responsible for their career choice. In order to address this problem and provide remedial measures, a sample of engineering students was taken from different institutions in Pakistan. Based on the student’s current and previous academic performance and interest in their projects, a weighted index was constructed with empirical evidence. This index reflects the overall comprehensiveness of the career decision. The study revealed that 57.4% of the students are enrolled because of self-interest, while the remaining have other reasons. Furthermore, it was found that a significant number of students experience poor outcomes because of bad decisions in relation to how they choose their career. Data analysis suggests that the majority of the students who choose their career due to the influence of others show poor performance on the index rating. The reason for the career choice of the students indicates a highly significant ((p-value = 0.003) association. A gamma test is used to determine the direction of the association. The results also indicate a negative trend when there is a shift of career choice from one due to self-interest to one based on the outlook of the career. This research takes into account all of the important factors in career choice, and is particularly useful for guidance counselors of high schools and colleges as it provides a framework for career choice decisions for students. Finally, the researchers propose a decision making criteria and a numerical model for guiding counselors and students. https://doi.org/10.13033/ijahp.v9.i2.488